RM300,000 unregistered medical devices confiscated

BATU PAHAT: More than RM300,000 worth of unregistered medical devices that were sold to pharmacies and private clinics nationwide were confiscated by the Health Ministry during a raid on a company in Taman Perindustrian Wawasan here.

The owner of the company, which has been in operation since 2017, had been given a warning letter back in 2018 and 2022 but continued to run his operations, according to Medical Device Authority (MDA) surveillance and operations unit chief Dery Akmal Abdul Rahman.

“The first warning in 2018 was based on a public complaint as the owner, a 40-year-old man, was found to be selling two types of unregistered medical devices.

“After another complaint was lodged in July last year, we issued a second warning to the company, this time for selling five types of unregistered medical devices,” he said when met by reporters at the location after the raid was conducted at 10am yesterday.

He added that the company had allegedly been selling unregistered medical devices imported from China to pharmacies and private clinics across the country.

Dery Akmal said the MDA had conducted surveillance lasting six months and investigations on the company before the operation.

He added that the ministry had also investigated all of the pharmacies and private clinics that bought the unregistered medical items from the company.

“The use of unregistered medical devices is dangerous due to the unknown risks it poses to our health,” he explained.

Among the confiscated items were face masks, pregnancy test kits, first aid kits, blood lancets and gauze,” he said, adding there were five workers at the company during the raid.

No arrest was made as the company owner had promised to give his full cooperation to the case, said Dery Akmal.

The case is being investigated under Section 5(1) of the Medical Device Act 2012 (Act 737) for selling an unregistered medical device.